Xref: utzoo misc.consumers.house:13424 sci.electronics:13896 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!olivea!mintaka!streeter From: streeter@theory.lcs.mit.edu (Kenneth B. Streeter) Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,sci.electronics Subject: Re: Question about electrical outlets Message-ID: <1990Aug30.192503.23235@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> Date: 30 Aug 90 19:25:03 GMT References: <90240.090730MADIF@ROHVM1.BITNET> <842@ecicrl.UUCP> <1990Aug30.012428.14541@mthvax.cs.miami.edu> <1990Aug30.165822.19356@amd.com> Sender: daemon@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu (Lucifer Maleficius) Reply-To: streeter@im1.UUCP (Kenneth B. Streeter) Organization: Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT Lines: 35 In article <1990Aug30.165822.19356@amd.com> phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) writes: > >Speaking of hospitals, there's one around here (Kaiser) that seems >to like to install all their outlets "upside down", with the ground >of the three prong outlet on top. I thought they were just >incompetent (scary thought in a hospital) but they are pretty >consistent about it. >Is there method to this madness? Well, I'm not quite sure why you see there being a problem with mounting the outlets with the three-prong groud on top. As far as I know, there is no real "reason" for the conventional setup with the single ground below the two "active" wires. In fact, I have heard it proposed that the "upside-down" setup is safer. Why would the setup with the single ground on top be safer? Well, if the plug sagged from the outlet a little, it would expose some of the ground pin on top. Anything dropped onto the exposed portion would contact the ground pin. With the "conventional" setup, the dropped item would contact one, or both of the "live" pins. The rationale for the ground-on-top being safer is that things are more likely to be dropped than they are "flung up" from below the socket. For all practical purposes, however, I see the two arrangements being essentially equivalent, although it is somewhat annoying to not have a consistent setup (whichever it may be.) -- Kenneth B. Streeter | ARPA: streeter@im.lcs.mit.edu MIT LCS, Room NE43-350 | UUCP: ...!uunet!im.lcs.mit.edu!streeter 545 Technology Square | (617) 253-2614 (work) Cambridge, MA 02139 | (617) 225-2249 (home)